What a brand identity package actually includes — and what it costs

“How much for a logo?” is one of the most reasonable questions a small business owner can ask, and one of the hardest to get a straight answer to. Prices online run from free to five figures, and the packages behind those numbers rarely say what's inside.

So let me take the mystery out of it. Below is what a brand identity package actually includes, what each piece does for you, what logo design cost looks like across the market right now, and exactly what my own tiers cost. No “contact us for pricing.”

What is a brand identity package?

A brand identity package is the set of design pieces that make your business recognizable everywhere it shows up: your logo and its variations, a color palette, a type pairing, and the rules for using them together. The logo is the headline. The package is everything that keeps the headline looking like itself.

I wrote about why that difference matters in why a logo is a system, not a drawing. This post is the practical follow-up: what's in the box, and what it costs.

What a brand identity package includes, piece by piece

Every studio names its packages differently, but good ones are built from the same parts. Here's what each one is, and why you'd want it.

The logo suite

Not one file, but a small family. A primary mark (the full, favorite version), an alternate layout for spaces that are wide or square, and a small-space icon that still reads as a favicon or a profile photo. Same identity, dressed for different rooms.

A color palette

A handful of colors that are genuinely yours, with exact codes. Those codes are what make your printer, your web developer, and your Canva templates all land on the same shade of green.

A type pairing

One typeface for headlines and one for everything else. Type does a surprising amount of quiet work: it's how your menu, your website, and your invoice start to sound like the same business.

A style guide

A short document with the rules: how much clear space the logo needs, the smallest size it can appear, which version goes where, and the color and font specs. This is the piece people skip, and the piece that lets you hand your brand to someone else without it drifting.

Supporting elements

Patterns, textures, and small illustrated details. They fill a packaging panel or a website section so your logo doesn't have to do all the talking.

Collateral and templates

Business cards, letterhead, and social media templates. Some packages include them; others offer them as add-ons.

Files you can actually use

A print and digital file package, including scalable files for large pieces and web-friendly formats for screens. Always ask who owns the source files, and when they transfer to you.

What does logo design cost in 2026?

Here's where a straight answer gets complicated, because “logo design” covers everything from an app to an agency. Published price guides show just how wide the spread is:

• Logo makers: $20 to $200 (ManyPixels)
• Design contests: from $249 (ManyPixels)
• Freelance designers: $300 to $2,000 according to ManyPixels; another 2026 guide puts the freelance range at $300 to $3,000 (Mojomox)
• Branding agencies: $3,000 to $10,000 and up (ManyPixels), with Mojomox's agency range stretching from $5,000 to $150,000

Why logo design cost varies so much

Part of it is who's doing the work. About one in five graphic designers is self-employed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That means prices are set by thousands of independent studios, not a standard rate card. ManyPixels breaks freelance rates down by experience: roughly $300 to $500 for designers with under two years, $500 to $1,500 at mid-level, and $1,500 and up at five years or more.

The other part is time. ManyPixels estimates that a logo project with a proper discovery call, a competitor review, three concepts, two revision rounds, and a full file handoff is realistically 15 to 30 hours of work, and that most of those hours go to discovery and revisions, not drawing. When a logo costs less than an afternoon of someone's time, some of those steps aren't happening.

What my brand identity packages cost

Here's the transparent version. These are the same prices listed on my services page.

Brand Starter: $500 to $800. For new businesses and side projects ready for a real mark. You get a primary logo plus one alternate, a color palette of 3 to 5 colors, a display and body type pairing, 2 revision rounds, and a print and digital file package. Typical timeline: 2 to 3 weeks.

Brand Identity: $1,200 to $1,800. For businesses ready to look established, and stay that way. Everything in Brand Starter, plus submark and icon variants, a full visual style guide (PDF), a pattern or texture library, and 3 revision rounds. Typical timeline: 4 to 6 weeks.

Brand Suite: $2,500 to $3,500. For brands that need everything ready to launch, including the launch itself. Everything in Brand Identity, plus brand voice and messaging notes, business card and letterhead design, a social media template set, and 3 revision rounds with launch support. Typical timeline: 6 to 8 weeks.

The fine print, in plain words:

• 50% deposit to start, balance on delivery. Payment plans are available.
• Source files are yours on final payment.
• Extra revisions beyond your tier are $75 an hour, and I ask for your approval before logging any time.
• Rush timelines are +25%, when the schedule allows.

How to choose the right tier

A few honest signals for each tier:

• Brand Starter fits if you're brand new or testing an idea, and you need a real mark before your brand has many places to live.
• Brand Identity fits if you already have customers, your brand shows up in several places (a website, packaging, social), or other people will be using your brand. That's when the style guide earns its keep.
• Brand Suite fits if you're launching or relaunching and want print and social ready on day one.

Not sure? Start with the tier that matches where your brand is today. You can always grow into the next one.

What a package doesn't include

Honesty about the edges matters as much as the list of what's inside.

• Trademark registration. Designing a mark and legally protecting it are two different steps. The USPTO describes a trademark as a word, phrase, design, or combination that identifies the source of your goods or services, and notes that whether to protect your brand under trademark law is your choice. If that matters for your business, talk to a trademark attorney. It isn't part of a design package.
• A website. Web builds are handled in partnership with Artifex Web. If you only need the brand, you're free to take your identity to any developer you choose.
• Unlimited revisions. Each tier includes a set number of rounds, so the project keeps moving toward done.

Questions to ask any designer before you pay

Whoever you hire, these five questions will tell you what you're really buying:

• What exactly is in the package? How many logo variations, and is there a style guide?
• How many revision rounds are included, and what does an extra one cost?
• Who owns the final and source files, and when do they transfer to me?
• Which file formats will I get for print and for the web?
• How long will it take, and what do you need from me to start?

A good designer will answer all five without hesitation.

Where to go from here

Pricing shouldn't be the scary part of building a brand. A brand identity package isn't really a purchase of one drawing. It's an investment in every future moment your name shows up somewhere new.

If one of these tiers sounds like where your business is today, send me a note with the package you're considering and a sentence about what you're building. I'd love to hear what you're starting.

— Lana, Rose Fable